


Things I Won't Regret

by withpractice_ff



Series: Miles Edgeworth is a Complicated Man [5]
Category: Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-09-25
Updated: 2009-09-25
Packaged: 2017-10-21 10:31:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/224190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withpractice_ff/pseuds/withpractice_ff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phoenix Wright keeps his promises.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things I Won't Regret

**March 24th, 9:20am  
Phoenix Wright's Apartment**

Phoenix wakes on top of the covers, still fully dressed, with a considerable hang over. He groans, rolling onto his stomach to press his face hard into his pillow. The events of last night slowly play out in his mind, and he groans again.

"Mr. Nick?" Pearls calls from what must be directly outside of his bedroom door, she sounds so loud and right next to his ear. "Are you okay in there?"

"Yeah," he mumbles, just loud enough for her to hear him.

"Good!" she chirps brightly. "Now that you're awake, hurry up and get dressed so we can go get breakfast!"

He forces himself out of bed and into the shower, which he initially regrets because the pounding of the water on his head is fairly awful, but he does feel a little more human afterward. He throws on some weekend clothes--sweats and a threadbare Ivy U t-shirt--and takes the girls to the diner around the corner from his apartment.

"This is terrible," he says, looking at the menu.

Maya sits in the booth across from him, chewing on a coffee stirrer. After spending the last several days in the same clothes, she borrowed some of Phoenix's to wear this morning. She looks even smaller than usual in his clothes, swimming in one of Phoenix's old t-shirts and a pair of his high school gym shorts. It's the first time Phoenix has seen her in something other than her channeling robes, and it's a bit jarring. Not looking up from her menu, she asks, "What?"

"I'm starving, but the thought of food is making me nauseous."

"Partied a little too hard last night, eh Nick?"

"Mr. Nick?" Pearls asks, looking up at him with wide eyes. "If al-ko-hol makes you sick, why do people drink it?"

"Because they're idiots," he mutters--mostly to the himself--then says, "Remember how miserable I am right now, Pearls, the first time someone ever offers you a beer."

"You are like the worst role model ever," Maya says, smiling.

The waitress comes over, and Maya and Pearls order enough food for a family of five.

"I'll just have some orange juice and scrambled eggs, thanks," Phoenix says, handing her his menu. Turning back to the girls, he says, "I'm claiming your leftovers right now."

"Nick, please. What leftovers?"

"You two are frightening."

Maya grins, then asks, "So where did you disappear to last night?"

He groans, covering his face with his hands. "I went over to Edgeworth's."

"What? Why?"

"I really couldn't tell you, retrospectively."

"Was Mr. Edgeworth happy to see you?" Pearls asks.

"I think 'surprised' would be more accurate."

"I bet," Maya says, smiling wickedly. "I guess Gumshoe's going to see another cut in his pay for taking you over there."

Phoenix groans again. "Ugh, I didn't even think about that."

"You got in quite a while after us; I'm surprised he let you in."

Phoenix considers how much deeper into this conversation he wants to go. He looks at Pearl, who is looking between the two of them eagerly, and says, "Hey Pearls, why don't you go wash your hands before we eat?"

"Okay!" she exclaims, then takes off for the bathroom.

"Oh ho ho," Maya says, folding her arms across her chest. "Something you don't want the kid to hear. I can't wait!"

"I can't believe I'm actually going to tell you this," he says, going red with embarrassment, "but I kind of, sort of, maybe punched him in the face a little when he opened the door."

"WHAT!?"

"Just a little bit."

"Nick!"

"Barely more than a flick, really."

"And he didn't beat the crap out of you?"

"No, he actually---" he stops, offended. "Wait, you think he could take me?"

Maya shrugs. "I don't know, but you being drunk would definitely give him an advantage."

Phoenix rolls his eyes. "Anyway, no, he did not beat the crap out of me. He invited me in, actually, and we talked for a while."

"About what? How you punch like a girl?"

He ignores this comment, continuing, "We talked about why he left that note a year ago. I shouldn't say too much about it, because it was told to me in confidence, but..."

"It was a good talk?" Maya asks.

"Yeah."

"You feel better?"

"Yeah, for the most part."

"Good."

After breakfast, Phoenix takes the bus over to the train station with them. After everything that's happened, he's having a hard time watching them go.

"I just need some time at home," Maya explains quietly, noticing the look on Phoenix's face. "I'll be back in town soon, and we'll call you as soon as we reach Kurain."

"You better," Phoenix says, sounding vaguely mopey.

"Aw, cheer up, Slugger, " Maya says, ruffling his hair affectionately. He groans and leans away from her.

"Your fingers are like tiny hammers," he says miserably, wishing he had some aspirin.

When the train arrives, their good-byes are protracted, none of them really wanting to part but also realizing they're being kind of foolish. Phoenix hugs Maya tightly, whispering into her hair, "I swear to God I will kill you myself if you forget to call me."

"I'll miss you too, Nick," she replies fondly, then she and Pearls disappear into the train.

He buys himself a cup of black coffee and hangs around the station for a while, feeling lonely and generally shitty. He spends some time worrying over Maya and Pearl, even though he knows it's ridiculous--it's not like this is the first time they've ever made this trip--before his thoughts turn to last night.

He very definitely told Edgeworth that he was going to come over today. It could be interpreted--accurately--that he was going to come over today specifically to try to have sex with Edgeworth.

He downs the rest of the coffee, scowling at the sharp, bitter bite at the bottom of the cup.

It's stupid, and he knows it's stupid, but he sort of wants to go over there just to prove the other man wrong, that not everything he did or said was motivated by alcohol.

Instead he heads back to his apartment to take a much needed nap. He can figure out the rest of it when he wakes up, hopefully feeling significantly less hungover.

When he wakes, it's to the sound of his phone ringing: Maya, telling him that she and Pearl are safe and sound in Kurain, and she is really, really happy to be home.

"I figure I'm going to pretty much do nothing but train and nap and eat for the next few weeks," she says, and he can practically see her smiling. "It's going to be great."

"That does sound pretty good."

They chat for a few more minutes before Maya says she has to go, she wants to change into some real clothes now. He reminds her to bring that stuff with her next time she comes into the city, and she laughs.

He's never getting those clothes back.

He putters around the house for a few hours: makes himself a sandwich; watches an episode of Looney Toons; folds the pile of clean laundry that's been sitting in the corner of his bedroom for a week. He doesn't realize he's decided to go to Edgeworth's until he notices that he's pulled on a pair of clean jeans and one of the three t-shirts he owns that doesn't have a hole somewhere in it. He shrugs, accepting the decision as if it were some force of nature, out of his control.

"This is stupid," he mutters to himself, locking the door of his apartment.

It's not until he's on the corner, trying to hail a taxi, that he realizes he doesn't remember--if he ever knew, drunk as he was--Edgeworth's address. It is with great shame that he calls Dick Gumshoe.

"Forget it, pal," Gumshoe says with a disbelieving laugh. "I'm sure to be in hot water already for taking you there last night."

"Come on, he's not going to know you told me today. I'm sure he'll just assume that I remembered from last night."

"Forget it," Gumshoe repeats.

"What if I bought you a milkshake, too? What if I bought you two milkshakes?"

"Make it three, and you've got yourself a deal."

"You people are animals."

Edgeworth's house looks somehow different in the daylight. It looks almost intimidating, although objectively he guesses it doesn't look any different from any of the other townhouses on the block. But still, looking at the front door, he can't help but think that maybe this is going to turn out to be a bad idea.

He knocks hesitantly, twice, and waits.

"Returning to the scene of the crime?" Edgeworth asks as he opens the door. His left cheek and bottom lip are swollen, and there's a sickly yellow bruise from his jaw to just under his eye.

"Jesus," Phoenix breaths, reaching out instinctively to touch the bruise. Edgeworth pulls away from him with a jerk, giving him a look that clearly asks, "Seriously?"

Phoenix says, "Sorry, I just-- Wow. I'm really sorry."

Edgeworth rolls his eyes, backing up to let the other man enter the house. He says, "It's fine."

"It looks like it hurts."

"Only when I breathe."

Phoenix follows Edgeworth into the kitchen, taking a seat at the table while the prosecutor puts a kettle on to boil. He puts away the clean dishes in the drying rack and takes a muffin from a basket on the counter, splitting it in half and buttering each side. He places it in front of Phoenix and turns back to the counter. Phoenix picks at the muffin--blueberry--and watches Edgeworth prep a teapot, strangely transfixed by this scene of domesticity.

When the tea is ready, Edgeworth places a small teacup in front of Phoenix and pours another for himself before taking a seat. He sips his tea neatly, watching Phoenix snag the last few crumbs off of his plate.

"So," Edgeworth says, having apparently exercised all of his patience, "What are you doing here?"

Phoenix shrugs. "I wanted to see you."

Edgeworth looks at him suspiciously, and Phoenix takes a sip of tea before saying, "I know, it's weird, right?"

"What are you doing here?" Edgeworth asks again.

"I guess I wanted to apologize for last night, sober and in person. I also wanted to thank you for talking to me about what happened. I know that sort of thing isn't easy for you, so the significance of the gesture is not lost on me."

"Good," Edgeworth says, looking uncomfortable. "And thank you."

"You're welcome," Phoenix says with an easy shrug. "And I really did just want to see you." Then he surprises himself a little by adding, "And this," and leans in and kisses Edgeworth very gently at the corner of his lips.

"Wright..." Edgeworth says warningly.

"I can go, if you want. Just say the word."

But Edgeworth doesn't say anything, and they sit there in silence, each waiting for the other to make a move, until Edgeworth finally says, "Stay."


End file.
